


A Few Years Later

by Mollygail



Category: White Collar
Genre: Gen, Happy Ending, Post Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:28:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24707608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mollygail/pseuds/Mollygail
Summary: Neal's new job brings him back to New York where he has an unexpected reunion with Peter.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 66





	A Few Years Later

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been floating around in my head for a while and I have done the best I could with it. If I had more talent there would be a plot, suspense, and daring heroics by our favorite conman.  
> In my mind, this story takes place two years after another story I wrote: Clues, Treasure, and Hope. But, it's not necessary to read that first.

Neal sighed as he reviewed his situation. He never thought he would be in this position again. He yanked petulantly at the handcuffs chaining his wrists to the table. Mozzie would kill him if he heard about this. He shook his head. Mozzie hadn’t spoken to him in months because he disapproved of what he called ‘Neal’s ill-advised career choice’.

Jones hadn’t offered him anything to eat or drink when he left him in here. He was thirsty, tired, and he wanted to go home. Well, back to his hotel room at least. He didn’t really have a place to call home anymore. He sighed again and rolled his head from side to side trying to relieve the tense muscles. It had been a long night. He hadn’t been doing anything illegal, yet here he was, in the White Collar interrogation room, chained to a table.

He thought about his first time in this room when Peter arrested him years ago. He’d been scared then. Of course, he would never have admitted that to anyone. And, in spite of his fear, he had enjoyed talking to Peter that day. They had shared a pizza and Peter had given him a Coke to go with it. Neal actually had some fond memories of that day.

When he worked with Peter he’d watched as Peter questioned other suspects in this room. He liked watching Peter work and had felt proud to be his partner. Sadly, that had all ended after the fiasco with his father. His relationship with Peter had never fully recovered from the aftermath of that dark time. They had both tried to pretend that they’d each gotten over their differences but neither had been fooled. Neal still had nightmares of Peter calling him ‘nothing but a criminal’. Maybe that wasn’t exactly what Peter had said, but that’s the way Neal remembered it. 

Still, even three years after he had faked his death, Neal often thought about Peter and wondered what he’d think about this new career. He wondered if Peter would be proud of him or would he just think he must be working an angle. Of course, Neal never confessed his thoughts to Mozzie because Moz would never understand. Neal didn’t really understand his own thoughts on the matter. Why be concerned about the opinion of someone who had lost faith in you? He’d let himself get too close to Peter and he’d spent the last three years reminding himself never to make the same mistake again. Getting close to people had never worked out well for him and it was best to accept that fact and adjust his life accordingly. 

Neal sighed and moved his chair closer to the table. If he was going to be left in here for a while he might as well try to get some sleep. He laid his head down to rest on his arms and got as comfortable as he could. 

*************

“This is Burke.” Peter answered his phone expecting Jones to tell him everything had gone well on the bust. It had been a long night and he wanted to go to bed.

“Yeah, Peter, we’ve got a little situation I think you should know about.” Jones stood outside the interrogation room keeping an eye on Caffrey. He’d expected Neal to try to escape but instead, he sat slumped in his chair, the picture of exhaustion.

“What is it, Jones? Did someone get hurt during the bust?”

“No, it went pretty smoothly. We assisted NYPD and the Taskforce with the bust and it went according to plan. The cops arrested the bad guys and the FBI rescued the victims. My team arrested the inside man to protect his cover.”

“So what is the situation that I need to know about?”

“I’d feel better if you could come down here and see it for yourself.”

Peter sighed and turned off the TV. “Okay, Jones, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Thanks, Peter.” Jones pocketed his phone and debated what his next move should be. One of the members of the private task force could show up any minute to pick up their operative, but most likely it would take hours for them to file the paperwork. Jones wanted to wait for Peter but he also didn’t want to lose the chance to talk to Caffrey. He made his decision and entered the interrogation room.

“Caffrey, can I get you some coffee or something?”

Neal slowly turned to Jones and blinked tiredly at him. “FBI coffee? I think I’ll pass.”

“I’ve got a coffee maker in my office. I can make you a cup of Italian roast if you want.” Jones tilted his head and waited for an answer.

“Could I just have some ice-water? It’s been a really long day.”

“Sure, just give me a few minutes.”

A few minutes later Jones returned with the glass of ice-water. He’d put a straw in it to make it easier for Neal to drink while he was cuffed to the table.

“Thanks, Jones,” Neal said when the glass was placed in front of him. He leaned forward and took a long drink through the straw. “When will Peter be here?”

“How do you know I called Peter?”

Neal raised an eyebrow and gave Jones a crooked grin. 

Jones nodded. Of course, Caffrey would know he’d called Peter. “Peter will be here in about fifteen minutes. I didn’t tell him why I thought he should come though.”

Neal nodded and yanked his hands to rattle the cuffs. “Are you going to keep me chained till he gets here?”

“I don’t want you slipping away on me.”

“I’m more likely to fall asleep than escape.” 

Jones could see that Neal looked exhausted and he took pity on him. He pulled his cuff key out of his pocket and reached over to unlock the cuffs.

Neal rubbed his wrists to erase the feel of the cuffs. “Aren’t you going to ask me any questions?”

“I’ve got a lot of questions, Caffrey, but I think it’s best to wait for Peter to get here.”

“Do I need a lawyer?”

“I’m going to let Peter answer that one, but I wouldn’t think you’d need a lawyer. No one collected on any life insurance policy when you died, right?”

“No.” Neal shook his head firmly.

“I just don’t understand why you’d fake your death. You had a contract. You’d have been free. It doesn’t make sense to me. Do you have any idea what your death did to Peter? How could you do that to him?”

“It was complicated. I had a lot of reasons for what I did; some of them you might even approve of.” Neal sighed. He’d just wanted to protect the people he cared about. He’d done what he had to do, and he did know what effect his death had had on Peter…and Mozzie. 

When Mozzie arrived in Paris he’d punched Neal in the eye and then hadn’t spoken to him for a month. He’d stayed with Neal in his apartment; he’d drunk Neal’s wine and ate Neal’s food; slept on Neal’s couch and didn’t speak one word to him for an entire month. When he did start talking it was about how hard Peter had taken his death. 

Neal was brought out of his memories by Jones's voice. “Reasons” Jones laughed… ”ya know, Peter always said you had a reason for everything you did. I guess he was right.”

“Of course he was right.” Neal sat back in his chair and laughed. “No one does anything without a reason. There’s a reason why you have a coffee maker in your office. There’s a reason why you use a specific shampoo. That’s just human nature; you and Peter are no different from me in that respect.” Neal looked at Jones and studied his appearance. “That tie, for instance. There was a reason you chose that tie to wear this morning when you got dressed. Maybe it was the color or pattern, or maybe you had a stain on your favorite tie. Maybe you were in a hurry and that was the first one you grabbed. But, there was a reason.”

Jones looked down at the tie he was wearing. It was a blue Dolce and Gabbana floral silk jacquard tie. Jones ran his fingers down the tie thoughtfully. “Yeah, there was a reason I chose this tie. It’s my lucky tie…used to belong to a friend of mine. He died and left a drawer full of ties. I chose this one to remember him by.”

“Hmm…it was one of my favorites. The color brought out the blue in my eyes.” 

“You want it back?”

“Nah, it looks good with your suit…which, by the way, is a very nice suit. Not the typical Brooks Brothers Fed edition…Is there a Mrs. Jones yet?”

“Not yet, but I’m working on it. I’m actually planning on shopping for the ring this weekend. I’ve got dinner reservations at a very nice restaurant and if I can find the right ring I’m going to propose.”

“Take my advice, Jones…propose even if you don’t find the ring you want to give her. The ring isn’t the important part of the proposal. Love is what’s important. Life is short; don’t waste time.”

“I’ll give that some thought. Listen…I’m going to go wait for Peter downstairs. Are you going to stay put here or do I need to cuff you again?”

“I’ll stay. But you do realize that’s exactly what I’d say if I was going to take off, right?”

Jones laughed and nodded. “Right. I’ll get Blake to watch you.”

A short time later Peter stepped off the elevator and walked over to where Jones was waiting. “Jones, what’s up? What situation do I need to see for myself?”

“We’ve got their inside man in interrogation room one. I think you should talk to him.”

Peter looked at Jones with a puzzled expression. “You were just supposed to make the arrest look real, Jones. Why are we interrogating him?”

“Just come and meet him. We’re not interrogating him, but I think you’re going to want some answers from him.”

Peter nodded although he still didn’t understand the situation. “Fine, let’s go up then.” Peter jogged up the stairs followed closely by Jones. When they reached the window Peter looked into the room and froze in his tracks. “Neal,” he whispered as he turned to Jones in shock. “Neal is the guy they sent to infiltrate a human trafficking ring?”

“Yeah, he’s their inside man. From what I hear, they couldn’t have made the bust without his help. The task force was very insistent that we protect him and his cover. Apparently this wasn’t his first mission with them.” Jones looked over at Peter and couldn’t help noticing that, though Peter was surprised at the work Neal was doing, he didn’t seem surprised that Neal was alive. “You knew he was alive, didn’t you?”

Peter nodded with a guilty expression on his face.

“So, it was just an act? Your grief and guilt was just an act to cover for him? You processed the paperwork and made sure his contract was honored knowing he was alive?” 

“No,” Peter said firmly. “I didn’t know at the time. I figured it out a year after the fact when he sent me clues. I found the storage unit the day before the anonymous tip was called in. When I found it there were clues and diagrams detailing how he faked his death. The next day, when we opened the container, the clues were gone. He, or Mozzie, must have watched the container, and after I found it they cleaned out the evidence of his faked death and called in the tip.”

“So he really did steal all of that stuff.”

Peter sighed. “Does it matter who stole it? It’s all been returned to its’ rightful owners.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” Jones turned to look through the window again and then looked back at Peter. “Are you ready to go in?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Neal had been fighting to appear calm and confident while he waited for Peter to arrive. If he was honest with himself (and he’d tried to be honest these days) he was nervous about how Peter would react to seeing him. Would he punch him the way Mozzie had? Would he be happy to see him or would he be angry? Neal took a deep breath and tried to appear relaxed as he heard the door open.

Peter entered the interrogation room and stopped just inside the door. Neal remained quiet and waited for Peter to speak first.

“Neal.” Peter put his hands on his hips and waited for a response from the man he had last seen, cold and apparently lifeless, in the morgue.

“Peter.” Neal sat back in his chair and made no move to get up. The serious look on Peter’s face gave Neal no assurance that he wouldn’t soon have a black eye.

Peter took a few steps closer to the table and stopped again. “Get up,” he demanded sternly.

Neal slowly pushed his chair away from the table and stood up cautiously. Peter took the last few steps required to reach Neal. In a sudden swift movement, Peter grabbed Neal and wrapped his arms around him in an almost smothering hug. After a few stunned seconds, Neal wrapped his arms around Peter and returned the hug. 

After a few firm slaps on the back, Peter backed away a step and smiled at his former partner. “Ah, Neal, it’s good to see you. But what are you doing here?”

“I thought Jones would have told you. I’ve been working with a private human-trafficking task force.” Neal shrugged casually, as though it was obvious that he would do such a thing. “Don’t you want me to sit down while you question me?”

“What? No. I’m not questioning you. I’m just asking you questions.” At Neal’s skeptical look Peter shook his head. “Come on, Neal, I just want to know how you are and what you’ve been doing since I last saw you. Let’s go sit in my office and talk.”

Jones cleared his throat and shifted back toward the door. “I’ll just leave you two to catch up and see how Blake is doing with that paperwork. Neal, it’s good to see you. I’m glad you’re not dead. Maybe someday you can tell me your reasons for faking your death.”

“Someday I will. Nice job with the arrest, by the way. The last bust I worked on, the guys arresting me over-acted their part and I ended up with some bruised ribs when they shoved me up against their car.”

Jones laughed. “It wasn’t my first time arresting you,” he said as he left the room. 

“Peter, my boss will probably be here soon to pick me up, and then there are the reports to fill out. I need to lay low until they give me the ‘all-clear’ just in case some of the bad guys got away.”

“Perfect. You can lay low here. Call your boss and tell him we’ll be happy to hang on to you till the morning. Come on, let’s go into my office and talk.”

Neal sighed deeply and followed Peter into Hughes’ old office, where he sat down on the couch. He took out his phone and sent his boss a coded text saying he was safe and would contact him in the morning. “Okay, Peter, what do you want to know?”

Peter was a bit surprised at the change in Neal. It wasn’t just the outer appearance. He’d seen Neal work undercover plenty of times. Whether Neal was pretending to be a hitman, money launderer, political fixer, or playboy, when the arrest was made Neal dropped the act and was instantly back to being Neal Caffrey, conman extraordinaire. But now Neal continued to be distant and detached. 

“Neal,” Peter said as he shook his head. “I want to know how you are. I want to know if you’re happy.”

Neal’s smile was but a dim imitation of his old smile. “I’m fine, Peter. How are you and El doing? And your son?”

Peter noticed that Neal avoided the question about whether he was happy but let it pass…for now. “We’re fine. El has cut back on her work schedule so she can spend more time with Neal.” Peter noticed a slight smile at the mention of his son’s name. “How long are you going to be in town? I know El would love to have you over for dinner.”

“I don’t know, Peter. I think we have a lead on some trafficking activity in Seattle. I won’t be going undercover on this one, but I’ll be needed as part of the support team.” Neal shifted his gaze from Peter’s face when he saw the disappointment there. The truth was he would love to spend time with Peter and El, but he was scared. After the horrible last few months of his life before he faked his death he had decided he needed a fresh start. He’d spent a year in Paris trying to build a new life for himself, but his old life had held him back. In a moment of weakness, he’d contacted Mozzie and made sure Peter found the clues he’d left. He wasn’t surprised that Peter had come to see him when Jones called, but he was surprised that Peter seemed to have missed him so much. He had thought that Peter would be relieved to have Neal out of his life. 

Peter could see that Neal was trying to distance himself emotionally and decided to try another tactic to get Neal to open up. “How did you get involved with this human-trafficking task force? It doesn’t really seem like you. I mean…I'm sure you’re good at it, and I know you like helping people who are in trouble, but it just seems…dirtier, and potentially violent…not your usual comfort zone.”

Neal nodded as he understood what Peter was saying. “You’re right; it’s not at all comfortable for me. I hate it sometimes. But…it’s good sometimes too. Seeing the victims finally realize that they’re safe…rescuing the children from a life of slavery…” Neal sighed and fought back the tears that always came after a successful operation. “It’s not something I ever thought I would do, but I can’t walk away now; not after seeing what I’ve seen.”

“All this time I was imagining you in Paris; starving artist by day, charming playboy by night. How did you ever get involved with this?”

“I stumbled into it by accident. I was in a bar one night and ran into a guy I knew years ago. He sat down next to me and said he needed help. He looked like he was in trouble, and told me the alias he was using. He told me to play the part of his unhappy employer and insist that the goods be delivered at a discounted price because of the inconvenience I’d suffered. Next thing I know two guys come over, looking very unhappy. So, I played the part and one thing led to another.”

“That was quite a risk on your part, wasn’t it? Playing along with a criminal from your past could have landed you back in prison. Why didn’t you just walk away?”

Neal laughed at Peter’s reaction. “Why do you assume he was a criminal?”

“Well, you said he was someone you’d known years ago, and you were a criminal years ago, so…”

“I was a criminal, but that doesn’t mean the only people I’ve known are criminals. When I met him he was a CIA agent in Eastern Europe. He needed help retrieving some important documents and he heard about a brilliant young thief who could offer discrete assistance.”

“Don’t you mean ‘alleged’ thief?”

“Of course…alleged thief. Anyway, he has since retired from the CIA, and now he heads up a human-trafficking task force. He still has contacts in the CIA and, with their help, he provided me with a new identity. He offered me a job and he and his ex-CIA friends spent a couple of months training me. I’ve been working with them for about a year.”

“Training? What did they need to teach a world-class conman?”

“World-class?” Neal smiled with pride. “Thank you, Peter. But, actually, they taught me a lot. I learned some spy tricks that would have come in handy during my criminal career. Most importantly, they taught me how to fight and defend myself.”

“I guess the ‘duck and cover’ technique wouldn’t be very effective against traffickers. What does Mozzie think about your involvement with former spies?”

“He’s not happy about it. I mean, he’s all for arresting traffickers and putting them in prison, he just doesn’t want me involved. He worries that I’ll get myself killed or something.”

“You can’t blame him for that. Your death was pretty hard on him. When I figured out that you’d faked your death I thought he must have been in on it, but then I realized that he couldn’t have known. He was devastated…we both were.”

Neal hated talking about his ‘death’. He knew he’d hurt a lot of people, but he’d been hurt by it too. “I’m sorry, Peter. You understand why I did it though, right?”

“I know you wanted to protect us from the Panthers in case something went wrong. But, I also know you were planning to fake your death before the Panthers came into the picture.”

Neal tried to hide his surprise. How could Peter have known that? “What? What makes you think I was planning it before the Panthers?”

“When you were kidnapped…at first, we thought you ran. We went to your apartment looking for clues. Mozzie came in with a mannequin; the same mannequin I found in the storage unit. You didn’t find out about the Panthers until after you were kidnapped but you already had Mozzie working on getting you what you needed. You never told him he was helping you fake your death. Why?” 

Neal leaned back on the couch with a look of defeat. He shook his head slowly in a dazed manner. “I couldn’t do it anymore, Peter. The situation between you and me…” He sighed. “Mozzie kept telling me that guys like us can’t change. You basically told me the same thing; that I’d always be a criminal. Hagen was blackmailing me and I just felt like my life wasn’t my own anymore. Everyone owned a piece of me. I wanted to live my own life without having to worry about letting people down.”

“Aw, Neal, I’m sorry. When I said that…I was angry.”

“Really? I never suspected,” Neal said sarcastically.

“Yeah, I guess you figured that out. But, I wasn’t just angry with you. I was angry with myself, too. That’s no excuse though. I should never have said that. When you died…I spent a year regretting the fact that I never apologized for it. I am sorry.”

Neal didn’t respond but sat silently; deep in thought.

“Neal?”

“Hmm?” 

“Can you forgive me?”

Neal smiled a small, but genuine, smile. “Sure, Peter. It was a bad time for both of us and I know I made more than my share of mistakes too. Let’s just put it behind us.”

“I’d like that.” Peter studied his friend for a moment. “You look pretty tired. Why don’t you come home with me and get some sleep? I know El would love to see you and you could meet my son.” Peter stood up and motioned for Neal to get up. Peter was rewarded with a full-Caffrey smile as Neal got up off the couch.

“I would love to meet Neal and see El. But…isn't it kind of late?” 

“I’ll sneak you in and you can surprise El in the morning. You know, she thought I was losing my marbles when I told her I thought you were alive. She was sure I was imagining the whole thing.”

“Are you sure I’m not a figment of your imagination right now? Maybe I’m an ‘undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato.’ Maybe ‘there’s more of gravy than of grave about’ me.”

“Quoting Dickens now? Just to be sure you’re real I could punch you in the face. Do you want me to do that?”

“No. Maybe another hug instead of a black eye.”

Peter grabbed Neal and hugged him again. He was warm, solid, real, and alive. When he finished hugging Neal, he turned him toward the door and gave him a gentle push. 

“So…what’s this new identity that your new friends gave you?”

“My name is still Neal, Peter.”

“Neal, what’s your last name?”

“Peters. My name is Neal Peters.”

Peter pushed the elevator button and smiled at Neal. “Nice. I like it.”

“I thought you might.”

Peter got on the elevator. “Come on, Neal. Let’s go home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always welcome.


End file.
